toronto emergency alarm

Emergency alarm testing is taking place in Toronto and your ears will ring

If you happen to hear loud alarm bells ringing this weekend, don't worry, The Purge has not come to Toronto.

Instead, you'll be listing to the very important emergency alarm test sirens, thanks to the Community Awareness and Emergency Response (CAER) group.

If you live between Morningside Avenue and Beechgrove Drive, from the waterfront to Lawrence Avenue East in Scarbrough, you can expect the test to happen on Saturday, March 4, at 5 p.m.

A blaring 'whoop whoop' tone will ring in your ears for two minutes, following five minutes of pure silence. The all-clear signal — a monotone sound — will ring for one minute.

This is a very important test for the people in the area, who are living close to chemical plants. Regular tests are to prepare residents for the very unlikely event of an emergency.

If that situation does arise, once sirens sound in a real emergency, residents must go inside, close all doors, windows and openings, shut off ventilation systems, turn on local radio and TV for further instructions and keep the phone lines free.

While it may be extremely annoying for locals, especially dogs and babies, it's a necessity.

As the famous saying goes, better safe than sorry. It really is just five minutes of inconvenience.

Lead photo by

Evan Russel


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Here's why a huge 300-ton Toronto crane is actually a protected heritage structure

Toronto's forthcoming artificial island just got a new name

Toronto's biggest free Halloween party was a beautiful disaster

Canadians could soon cash in on $8.5 million TD mutual funds settlement

Ladybugs that bite and spray stinky fluid are taking over Ontario homes right now

Toronto reacts in shock as Doug Ford moves to cut bike lanes from downtown streets

Canada's dollar drops to lowest level in years and here's how it'll affect you

Canadian businesses could soon cash in big thanks to $2.5 billion in carbon rebates